Acoustic Cleaning FAQ

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What is Acoustic Cleaning?

Acoustic Cleaning is the use of high energy - low frequency sound waves which eliminate particulate build up and maintain material flow throughout a wide range of "dry processing" industries and applications.

What is Sound?

Sound may be best described as the rapid passage of pressure fluctuations through bonded material by means of a vibrating source and transmission medium.

What happens to changes in frequency?

We have selected a range of key fundamental frequencies between 60 and 420 Hz for a very particular reason. At the 420 Hz frequency the wavelengths are much shorter than at the 60 Hz frequency level. Therefore where high intensity, short distance material debonding is required (for example at the discharge of a silo) we would employ a suitable higher frequency Audiosonic™ Acoustic Cleaner. The opposite is true for say large silos; here to prevent material build up of a sidewall a suitable low frequency Audiosonic™ Acoustic Cleaner is employed to provide long-distance debonding power.

How do Audiosonic™ Acoustic Cleaners work?

Particles with different masses and clusters of particles are all hit by the alternating sound waves as the particles have different masses they travel slightly different distances, when this is repeated between 60 and 420 times per second the particles start travelling out of phase with each other and break apart.

How is this "sounding" activated?

The sounding is created when normal plant compressed air enters the Wave Generator this forces a diaphragm which acts a little like a reed to allow pulses of air into the horn section. The frequency of the sound is then dependant on the size and shape of the horn section.

Does the shape of the Bell Section matter?

Very much so, imagine a church bell and why it is shaped in the manner it is. This is for two reasons, firstly to provide as pure a tone (or fundamental frequency) as possible and secondly to cover an effective range. Could you imagine a square, straight-sided bell sounding properly - no of course not and that is why all our bell sections are precision spun in this exponential round bell shape.